Commercialisation takes its toll: SG Palya

Those residing in the S.G. Palya ward are paying a heavy price for rampant commercialisation. They find it difficult to sleep at night as all sorts of commercial activities happen late into the night. Due to proliferation of eateries and PG accommodations, the problem of illegal dumping of garbage is rampant in the area. The pothole-ridden roads and lack of enough streetlights add to their misery 

Bengaluru: While the residents in many parts of the city are fighting against the common zoning regulations, perceiving it as a threat to their peaceful lives, those residing in Maruthinagar and Thavarekere, coming under the S.G. Palya ward, are already bearing the brunt of rampant commercialization.

In addition, the garbage strewn near St John’s hospital and residences are posing a health hazard for nearby residents.

The entire S.G. Palya locality is so many commercial establishments that the students and the employees staying in various paying guest accommodation find themselves difficult to sleep as commercial activities continue till late night.

On top of it, the BBMP has failed to control the encroachments in the area and the illegal dumping of garbage by nearby eateries has added to their long list of woes.

Hammad Siddiqui, a resident at one of the PG’s in the area, believes that the civic agency has failed to control the rampant encroachments of footpaths as well as in carrying out the civic works.

“Most of the students find it difficult to study and the senior citizens find it difficult to sleep. The unstoppable growth of the commercial complexes and eateries in the past few years have made the area unlivable,” he added.

The unchecked growth of the small eateries in the area has made it one of the dirtiest in the city.

The pothole riddled roads have been the biggest hassle for motorists driving on Dairy Circle and Hosur Road and the recent wet spells have only increased their numbers.

Given the recent report of a bike skidding due to pothole and the rider coming under a lorry, the motorists are scared to venture out.

“The Maruthi Nagar area is used by the professionals looking for short cuts while travelling from Jayanagar to Koramangala. When the government knows this why cannot they carry out the repair works,” wonders Prithvi Patel, a resident.

While civic officials blame rampant growth of PGs in the area for illegal dumping of garbage during night, the lack of proper monitoring is also to blame. 

The residents also allege that the junction connecting Maruthi Nagar to Hosur road is poorly lit and a hazard to motorists. They wanted the authorities to fix the issue. 

Will install CCTV to monitor illegal garbage dumping, says G Manjunath
Your ward has turned out to be a complete commercial area. Will it not disturb resident’s sleep?
We take action against them and ask them to leave but somehow they manage to be back to their businesses. Every time encroachments on the footpaths are cleared, the hawkers come back and the owners of eateries encroach the walkways with tables and chairs.

What are you doing to control the menace of garbage near St John’s hospital?
Very often, the garbage from PGs’ and restaurants are littered late in the night. When we fine them, they readily pay the same, but would be back dumping garbage on the footpaths and roads. We have joined hands with an NGO with whom we demonstrate the process of segregating the waste at source.

Will the corporation install the CCTV cameras all over the ward for the continuous monitoring of the locality?
From October 9, over 70 cameras will be installed in the area. Similarly, in the next month, we will install 80 more for the continuous monitoring of the PGs’ and hotels throwing garbage late night.